Re: <nettime> 'La Casemate', Grenoble FabLab burned down by anti-digital activists

[e@x80.org]

Morlock Elloi <morlockelloi@gmail.com> writes:

>> Echoing recent digital critics such as Douglas Rushkoff or even myself,
>> they ask themselves what’s revolutionary or prophetic in an industry
>> that relies on old-school capitalism, monopolies, micro-work, state
>> regulations and money as a cardinal value. And as they reject the hacker
>> myth, they end up calling a revered
>
> "Hacker spaces" and similar are simply recruitment centers for the new
> cognitive class that will facilitate the machine-mediated control of
> the rest. People instinctively understand this, despite the deluge of
> propaganda to the contrary.
>
> Computing machines are all about control. While there is a number of
> positive side effects for those on the receiving side, ultimately it's
> about control of the many by the few. Tending to computing machines
> ('programming') has immediate gratification: you see many hapless
> 'users' being controlled  by your 'interface', following instructions
> you embedded once into the machine, millions and millions of
> times. You don't have to be there, they still obey you and your 'flow
> design'. You created f*cking 15 ... 10 commandments! (nod to
> Mr. Brooks.) You are god. This is the only reason why everyone and
> their mother wants to 'learn' computing 'science'.

I guess ignoring both the history and ample social contributions of the
hacker and digital activism movements turns out to be very convenient to
support that kind of victimised point of view. Oh, look! The machines
made us slaves!

You are correct about what the new cognitive class means for those not
it in. Those who belong, they will be the rulers of tomorrow, and those
who are left out, they will be the ones easy to control.

The ruling class acts on a rational basis here, and a great war against
knowledge and education is currently underway, fully supported by the
capitalist elites. For them, restricting access to the cognitive class
is a key point as low education levels are a critical factor for the
survival of their status.

For better or worse it seems to me that the only way to escape control
from computers is not rejection, but in-depth education about them.

E.
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